For the first time since 2008, Georgia baseball won the SEC regular season championship. This put the Bulldogs in a unique position entering the SEC Tournament where they had nothing left to prove.
Georgia is ranked No. 4 in the country. They also not only have their spot in the NCAA Tournament already locked up, but they more than likely have a top 8-seed guaranteed as well. So entering the SEC Tournament it would’ve been easy for them to take their foot off the gas and look forward to the NCAA Tournament.
But as head coach Wes Johnson explained after their 5-3 victory over Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, this Georgia team is different.
“With a team like this, every team's different,” Wes Johnson said via x.com. “You wish that they weren't or whatever, but this one's just different. They want to play. They want to play games. They're always competing at practice. They want to practice… So they just love to play. So when you have guys who do that -- one of the ways to help them stay focused is you play the game. And that's what these guys want to do. They wanted to come here and stay for a couple of days and play and try to get better.“
Georgia is two wins away from making history
Georgia has made the SEC Tournament 30 times in their history. In those 30 appearances they have won the tournament a whopping zero times.
Excluding Texas and Oklahoma who just joined the conference as well as Missouri who’s only been in this tournament eight times, it is just Georgia and Kentucky who have never won the SEC Tournament. But as the 1-seed they are the betting favorite to come out on top.
The SEC is and always will be the top conference in college baseball. Any team is capable of beating anyone else, so winning this tournament is a huge accomplishment for Georgia to add to their resume.
But the fact that this would be the first Georgia team to ever do it is why this team is so focused on the present even though a legit opportunity to win a national title is on the horizon.
Georgia gets unique opportunity to right one wrong against Florida
Even though Georgia won the regular season title, they had one glaring blemish in their resume. That occurred in mid-April when rival Florida came to Athens and left with a 2-1 series victory.
Sure Georgia got the last laugh by hoisting the regular season championship trophy, but the Gators do have some bragging rights. Those bragging rights however will be up for grabs on Saturday as Georgia and the 4-seed Gators will do battle in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.
As mentioned, Georgia has a top seed locked up in the NCAA Tournament especially after their victory over No. 16 Mississippi State on Thursday. But beating Florida is important no matter what the stakes are, and with their first SEC Tournament Championship on the line, beating the Gators along the way would make that championship that much better.
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